Nick Carter is a fictional detective who first appeared in 1886 in dime store novels. Over the years, different authors, all taking the nom de plume Nicholas Carter, have penned stories featuring "America's greatest detective". In this story, Nick finds himself in a quandary. He must choose between helping a friend, with a dubious past or arresting a master crook, long thought dead, but now setting up a new scam. Will he save his friend or, with the help of his assistants, stop the thief in his tracks?